I had the opportunity to purchase a used 10196 Grand Carousel for $925.  I talked myself out of it.  I like to build the larger sets and then sell them, but thats a lot of capital tied up to just break even.  Does everyone agree?  

You might break even if you are lucky. That is a bit under used value. Is the box and instructions included?

That is a lot of money. I would pass.

I woudn't have the heart to sell it and to cheap to spend that much on a set. have fun building and take a lot of pics

Sounds risky, Always the potential for one or two missing critical hard to find pieces. Plus what if the music piece doesn't work? I'd pass.

I had the opportunity to purchase a used 10196 Grand Carousel for $925.  I talked myself out of it.  I like to build the larger sets and then sell them, but that's a lot of capital tied up to just break even.  Does everyone agree?  

 

i'm also a huge fan of buying used larger retired sets to build and then resell them a profit even if the amount gained is small.  i then roll that money into buying another set that would be an excellent build. 

 

the main factor to consider is if you are in the 10196 market as a builder or conservative investor.   conservative because your profit will be small but sorta guaranteed to sell.

 

if investing, i agree with others who stated $925 is high.  personally, i would wait and hope for boxed set around $825.  box condition to me wouldn't be important. printed manuals are a must because you never know how building from a PDF goes (they are mostly good but some rendered files are terrible with color differentiation).  plus lack of manuals hurt resale values much more than boxes.  anyway, $825ish allows room for profit after seller fees.  additionally, what happens if you end up wanting to keep it?  at least it was bought for a decent price.

 

HOWEVER....

if this $925 set is complete, working and boxed then maybe you should go for it from a builder's perspective. 

why?  in case you never find a 10196 at your desired price target. 

what if your target price is $875?  that is only a $50 difference from $925.  not a large amount of cash in the long run. 

if you did buy this set for $925, what's the worse that can happen if it's complete and the sound works?  maybe you it for a small loss but at least you built it and you had fun.  that is also worth something.  then just consider the purchase like short-term auto lease for a make / model you have always wanted.

 

note:  no matter what price you pay (and as discussed in the posts above), it needs to be 100% complete and working.  if not, bricklinking elements can turn into a money pit which would ruin part of your experience.